Two HUGE singles have hit the streets recently – building up the excitement around the launch of red-hot new albums from Alice Cooper and the mighty Anthrax.

'I'll Bite Your Face Off' is the first single from Alice Cooper's eagerly anticipated 'Welcome 2 My Nightmare', the follow-up to his 1975 classic. Forget the cheesy early 90s Cooper of 'Hey Stoopid', or the Heavy Metal of 'Raise Your Fist and Yell'. This is classic – and I mean classic – 70s era Cooper with an obvious nod to his 60s influences.

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Backing his trademark tongue-in-cheek horror lyrics about a sexual liaison gone wrong are definite hints of the Rolling Stones, The Who, and possibly Elton John! Even more interesting is the 'B' side, 'Caffeine', a raucous foot stomping rock 'n' roll belter with more than a shade of The Rocky Horror Picture Show about the chorus.

But both tracks are loaded with Alice's effortless and timeless vocal sneer, knowing sense of humour, and top drawer musicians including original Alice Cooper band members and long time collaborator Steve Hunter.

Welcome 2 My Nightmare is to be released in the UK first as a Fan Pack in conjunction with Future Publishing in September, with a conventional release following in October. The Fan Pack includes the album, a giant poster, a facepaint set, a Metal badge, an Alice face mask and a 132 page magazine dedicated to all things Alice.

Anthrax have now actually released two singles from forthcoming album 'Worship Music' and take a more focused approach than Alice. Being part of the Big Four tour seems to have energised the band and the opening riffs of first single 'Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't' will literally bite your face off. I'm talking Metallica's 'Master Of Puppets' force. It's a full-frontal onslaught led by human drum machine Charlie Benante and the return of classic-era singer Joey Belladonna.

Zombie-themed lyrics catapult you into a surprisingly polished, melodic chorus, which almost masks the brutal guitar sound – but below the surface this is boiling with riffs, power, drums and that trademark Anthrax aggression. As it brutalises its way through the second chorus it explodes into a phenomenal drum assault which will quite literally blow up your speakers before climaxing in an orgy of guitar perfection. This is absolutely bloody brilliant. It's utterly addictive and I defy you not to play this ten times in a row!

'Worship Music' releases on September 13 and promises to be a career defining moment for the band and one of 2011's most exciting records. Second single 'The Devil You Know' is available now.

Keep your eyes glued to MetalTalk.net for reviews of both albums coming soon!